the summer of 1952, the East German authorities selected 39 families from Geisa for forced resettlement. They were given one day's notice to have all their belongings ready for transport. 25 of the 39 families fled to West Germany in response. There is now a memorial site (Haus auf der Grenze) with an exhibition on the history of the border. Just across the border, in what was previously West Germany, lies a former US observation camp - in military notation Point Alpha - that had sometimes been referred to as one of the "hottest spots of the Cold War". It was located in a very exposed position in the so-called Fulda gap, right in the path of a possible attack by the forces of the Warsaw Pact. Today the camp offers an exhibit on the presence of US armed forces and a memorial. Since 2008, the headquarters of the Point Alpha Foundation have been located in the castle in Geisa, in addition to the municipal museum. Sights Because of wars and fires (1858 in the upper town, 1883 in the lower town) in the past, only a modicum of historic buildings is present today. Schlossplatz - the square in front of the castle is formed by a number of commercial buildings, the Protestant church (1860) and what is today known as Schloss Geisa. The castle consists of two structures. The older is the Fürstliches Schloss, formerly the local courthouse and prison (built in 1540), which was turned into the seat of the local Amt (representative of the liege lord) by , Lord Abbot of Fulda, between 1678 and 1700. The younger is the Barockschloss (1712–1714) - a building by Johann Dientzenhofer - originally a hunting lodge for the Abbot (later Bishop) of Fulda. Stadtpfarrkirche - the Catholic Parish Church of St Philippus und Jakobus (St Philip and St James), which was built between 1489 and 1504. It is the only surviving Gothic church in the Geisa region. A rarity is the carillon, a special kind of 49 bronze bells on the church tower. Town hall - built in 1861 by "Point Alpha" - a memorial located at the former inner German border. Gangolfikappelle - documented since at least 1461. It features a rare exterior pulpit from around 1600 as well as a number of Renaissance grave slabs. A well-preserved Jewish cemetery is on the outskirts of Geisa. Notable people Athanasius